Today's real wedding comes with a health warning: may cause wanderlust! Arielle and Marc's Bali destination wedding was a gloriously sunny affair in an exclusive, riverside villa, complete with palm trees and traditional Balinese entertainment, and we're a little bit obsessed with how they styled it! Taking inspiration from the vibrant greenery around their venue, Villa The Sanctuary Bali, this loved-up pair created a boldly stylish day, which must have been a thrill to attend! It's captured here in gorgeous detail by the photography team at The Fashion Wedding, so let's get stuck in!
Have you ever seen a more idyllic outdoor ceremony set-up? We're struggling to think of one...
I don't know about you, but I can never have enough palm leaves in my life! The couple's wedding stationery is particularly fetching - talented bride Arielle designed it herself.
It's official! The only thing cuter than baby shoes is wedding-day baby shoes!
What a couple of heartbreakers! On another note, do you think this flower girl dress is available in adult sizes!?
Arielle and Marc are from the US but met in a CrossFit gym in Shanghai, where they live. "I was late to my first class at that gym and frantically looking for the equipment so I could catch up with everyone else. I saw a cute, muscular guy off to the side who looked like he knew where things were, so I asked him where I could find a kettle bell. He introduced himself and asked for my name. I didn’t think too much of it until two weeks later, I came back to a CrossFit class and realised he was the head coach! He remembered me and got my number after class."
Arielle was in a long-distance relationship when she met Marc, but the pair became fast friends. "We would just get coffee together every day after class, before I went to work. This lasted for about six weeks. I had never been on so many coffee dates! But then things ended suddenly with the guy I had been seeing, and that’s when Marc swooped in and made his move!"
A confetti bar is always an exciting prospect, but I'm a big fan of the banana-leaf cone holders on this one - they're equal parts pretty and environmentally-friendly!
When it came time to propose, Marc picked out a gorgeous emerald ring for Arielle. "It's sentimental to me as it's the birthstone of both Marc and my baby, Elise. I was 5 months pregnant at the time of our engagement and he proposed after picking me up from a flight to Los Angeles, en route to his family home. It was just us – and that’s exactly how I wanted it to be. I can get shy in front of big groups of people so I was really happy to have a more private and intimate proposal."
The couple decided pretty quickly that they wanted a destination wedding - they just had to settle on the destination! "We wanted to bring our families somewhere they hadn't been before. We've both been fortunate to have lived and traveled all over the world, and somehow Bali still stands out for having a sense of magic and unrefined beauty like no other place we've ever been. We love the people, the culture, and the landscape. Bali is so vibrant and colorful, yet at the same time so serene and spiritual."
Once Arielle and Marc had booked Villa The Sanctuary, the other major elements of their day fell into place. "We didn’t have a chance to visit the venue before booking it, but when we saw the lush, tropical and emerald hues of the Villa Sanctuary Bali in pictures, we knew it was the one. For a wedding backdrop, I couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect location. It's lush, tropical, exotic and romantic. And our guests repeatedly told us it was the most beautiful location for a wedding they had ever been to."
Arielle describes the décor as "tropical chic with modern Balinese accents. Our wedding was the culmination of so many cultures and traditions so we welcomed our guests with a sign that read, 'Welcome to our Balinese-Jewish-Filipino-American-Chinese Wedding Extravaganza!'" I can see quite a few couples with multicultural families stealing this idea!
While Arielle and Marc's wedding was all about having a blast, they also paid close attention to the details. "The décor and the entertainment were the most important to me," Arielle says. "I wanted my guests to be visually wowed, but also have the time of their lives. We included many elements of Bali into the décor - white Balinese umbrellas, bamboo floating lanterns, batik napkins, and local tropical flowers."
Arielle's advice to engaged couples is to prepare yourself for a few mishaps. "With so many people and moving pieces, it’s inevitable that a few things will go awry. Just know that going into it, so that when it happens, you’re not disappointed and you're able to shrug it off. We had some minor hiccups, but having that mentality going into it really helped me to stay focused on the bigger picture (I’m marrying the man of my dreams!) and not let it get in my way of having the absolute most amazing day of my life."
She also advises ditching your phone on the big day. "You won’t believe how many people message you with questions about pickup times, dress code or directions and it can easily get overwhelming and stop you from being able to relax. At one point, Marc saw me getting bombarded with messages, so he gently took my phone away and said, 'No need for this today.' It was really the best thing because from that point on, I was finally able to just be present in the moment."
A mirrored table plan is such a chic way to show guests where they're sitting, particularly if the landscape it's reflecting is as beautiful as this!
Arielle and Marc's dining table set-up, with its wood lanterns, rustic plates and tropical floral centrepieces, is so elegant and welcoming.
It looks like Arielle and Marc really treated their guests to a once-in-a-lifetime experience! "For the entertainment, we had traditional Rindik (Balinese percussionists) and also Balinese dancers. We also kept guests entertained throughout the night with a choreographed first dance, a traditional Filipino money dance, and a Khlezmer band for the Jewish wedding dances." How lucky are these guests!?
The couple have planned an epic honeymoon to match their Bali destination wedding. "We are hoping to go to Morocco later this year for some luxury camping in the Sahara Desert."
Consider us wowed! At this point, we have to say thanks so much to Arielle and Marc for giving us the backstory to their big day, and to The Fashion Wedding for sharing the stunning images!
